Connector

The present disclosure relates to a connector.

A connector described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a housing, a lock arm formed on the upper wall of the housing, a pair of plate-like support walls arranged on both sides of a rear end part of the lock arm and a coupling portion bridged between the respective plate-like support walls for covering a part of the rear end part of the lock arm. A locking space is formed in the rear end of the coupling portion.

A connector described in Patent Document 2 is provided with a housing, a lock arm formed on the upper surface of the housing, an upper surface side protecting portion for covering a rear end part of the lock arm from above and a pair of side surface side protecting portions for covering the rear end part of the lock arm from both left and right sides.

In Patent Document 1 and 2, the rear end part of the lock arm is configured as an operating portion (described as a “locking portion” in Patent Document 1). A worker can release the connection of the housing and a mating housing by pressing the upper surface of the operating portion with a finger.

A lock arm including such an operating portion is also disclosed in Patent Document 3 and 4. Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for improving workability by including a second lock protection wall for covering a base end side of the lock arm. Patent Document 4 discloses a technique for enhancing a collision sound (described as a “connection sound” in Patent Document 4) generated as the lock arm resiliently returns. This connection sound is a sound generated by the resiliently returning lock arm striking a wall surface of a mating housing when the housing and the mating housing reach a proper connection position.

In the case of Patent Document 1, when the housing and the mating housing are connected, the worker's finger may erroneously contact the upper surface of the operating portion through the locking space and the housing may reach a proper connection position with the operating portion pushed down. There has been a situation where the lock arm cannot resiliently return with a proper resilient reaction force even if the worker's finger is removed from the operating portion after the housing reaches the connection position in this way. Thus, there has been a concern that the above connection sound is reduced and auditory detection for connection does not function.

In contrast, in the case of Patent Document 2, since the upper surface side protecting portion covers the rear end part of the lock arm from above, the contact of the worker's finger with the rear end part of the lock arm can be avoided. Thus, in the case of Patent Document 2, it is possible to generate a connection sound. However, if an attempt is made to connect the housing and the mating housing by placing the worker's finger on the upper surface of the upper surface side protecting portion, the finger may slip on the upper surface of the upper surface side protecting portion and it may not be possible to smoothly perform an operation.

Accordingly, the present disclosure aims to provide a connector capable of properly generating a connection sound and smoothly performing a connecting operation.

The present disclosure is directed to a connector with a housing to be connected to a mating housing, the housing including a lock arm extending from a front end to a rear end in a connection direction to the mating housing, the lock arm being resiliently deformable in an intersecting direction intersecting the connection direction, the lock arm being locked to the mating housing, an end surface arranged to face a rear end part of the lock arm including the rear end in the intersecting direction, a pair of side portions projecting on the end surface, the pair of side portions being arranged on both sides across the rear end part of the lock arm, a covering portion bridged between the pair of side portions, the covering portion covering the rear end part of the lock arm from a side opposite to the end surface, and a step portion formed to face rearward on a top surface opposite to a surface facing the lock arm in the covering portion.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a connector capable of properly generating a connection sound and smoothly performing a connecting operation.

First, embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described below.

According to the above configuration, when the housing and the mating housing are connected, a worker's finger is placed on the top surface of the covering portion, whereby the finger can be prevented from contacting the rear end part of the lock arm. As a result, it can be avoided that the lock arm is inadvertently resiliently deformed, and the lock arm can properly resiliently return and generate a proper connection sound when the housing reaches a proper connection position. Moreover, since the step portion provides an anti-slip function for the finger when the housing is pushed into the mating housing, a connecting operation can be smoothly performed.

According to the above configuration, the worker's finger is more easily placed on the top surface of the covering portion, whereas the contact of the finger with the rear end part of the lock arm can be more reliably prevented.

According to the above configuration, the plurality of step portions can provide a more effective anti-slip function for the finger.

According to the above configuration, since the worker's finger can be placed along the trapezoidal or U-shaped step portion in placing the finger on the top surface of the covering portion, a large hooking margin of the finger to the step portion can be taken. As a result, the trapezoidal or U-shaped step portion can provide a more effective anti-slip function for the finger.

According to the above configuration, the plurality of trapezoidal or U-shaped step portions can provide an even more effective anti-slip function for the finger. Further, since being formed into a ripple shape as a whole, each step portion is more easily recognized as a part, on which the finger is to be placed.

According to the above configuration, when the housing is at the proper connection position, the lock arm can be resiliently deformed in an unlocking direction by placing a jig or the like along the groove portion of the rear end part of the lock arm. Thus, even if the rear end part of the lock arm is covered by the covering portion, the connection of the housing and the mating housing can be properly released.

A specific example of the present disclosure is described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to this illustration, but is represented by claims and intended to include all changes in the scope of claims and in the meaning and scope of equivalents.

A connectoraccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure is provided with terminal fittings, a housingand a retainer. As shown in, the housingis connectable to a mating housing. Note that, in the following description, a side of the housingto be connected to the mating housing, in particular, a side of the housingfacing the mating housingat the start of connection, is referred to as a front side concerning a front-rear direction. A left side ofis the front side. A vertical direction is based on a vertical direction of each figure. This vertical direction does not necessarily coincide with a direction of gravity in a state where the connectoris installed in a vehicle or the like. A lateral direction is based on a lateral direction of. In, X, Y and Z respectively represent the front-rear direction, the lateral direction and the vertical direction. Further, in the following description, a front end part means a part on a front side including a front end, and a rear end part means a part on a rear side including a rear end.

The terminal fittingis integrally formed, such as by bending an electrically conductive metal plate. As shown in, the terminal fittinghas a shape elongated in the front-rear direction and includes a connecting portionin a front end part and a barrel portionin a rear end part. The connecting portionis in the form of a rectangular tube, receives a tabof a mating terminal fittingmounted in the mating housingand is electrically connected to the mating terminal fitting. The barrel portionis crimped to an end part of a wire W and electrically and mechanically connected to the wire W.

The housingis made of synthetic resin and includes, as shown in, a housing bodyhaving a rectangular plan view shape long in the lateral direction. As shown in, the housing bodyincludes a plurality of cavitiesextending in the front-rear direction. A locking lanceis formed to project on the inner wall of each cavity. The terminal fittingis inserted into the cavityfrom behind and primarily retained in the housing bodyby locking the connecting portionby the locking lance. The wire W is pulled out rearward from the cavityof the housing body.

The housing bodyincludes a retainer mount holeopen in the left and right side surfaces and the lower surface of the housing bodyin an intermediate part in the front-rear direction. Each cavityis divided into front and rear parts via the retainer mount holeinside the housing(see). As shown in, the housing bodyincludes a projecting wallformed from an upper front end part to left and right front end parts. A front surfaceA of the housing bodyis arranged at a position retracted in the front-rear direction and corresponding to the rear end of the projecting wall(see).

As shown in, the upper surface of the housing bodyis configured as an end surfacefacing upward. The end surfaceof the housing bodyhas a recessed surfaceslightly recessed from both sides in the lateral direction in an intermediate part in the lateral direction. The housingincludes a lock armprojecting from the recessed surfaceof the housing body. The lock armincludes a pair of arm bodiesarranged at an interval in the lateral direction and a coupling portioncoupled to the rear ends of the respective arm bodies.

The respective arm bodiesare in the form of plates extending in the front-rear direction and arranged in parallel to each other. A front end part of each arm bodyis coupled to an upper front end part of the recessed surfaceof the housing bodyand constitutes a part of the projecting wall. The lock armis resiliently deformable in the vertical direction with a front end part of each arm bodyas a fulcrum. A lock projectionis formed to project on the upper surface of each arm body. As shown in, the lock projectionsare fit into lock holesformed in the receptacleof the mating housing, whereby the housingand the mating housingare held in the connected state. As shown in, the coupling portionis in the form of a rib extending in the lateral direction and end parts in the lateral direction are respectively coupled to the rear ends of the respective arm bodies.

As shown in, the lock armincludes an operating portionprojecting upward from the coupling portion. The operating portionincludes short leg portionsrising at a plurality of positions spaced apart in the lateral direction, three positions in the shown example, and an operating bodycoupled to the upper end of each leg portion.

The respective leg portionsare arranged at positions corresponding to the respective arm bodiesand a position between the respective arm bodiesin the lateral direction. As shown in, the rear surface of the leg portionis shaped into a slope inclined rearward toward an upper side. As shown in, the operating bodyis in the form of a plate extending in the lateral direction and end parts and an intermediate part in the lateral direction thereof are respectively coupled to the upper end of the coupling portion. The upper surface of the operating bodyis arranged at a position higher than the upper surface of each of the arm bodiesand the coupling portionand serves as a facing surfacefacing a covering portionto be described later.

As shown in, a rear end part of the operating bodyis formed to be thicker than a front end part of the operating body. As shown in, the rear end part of the operating bodyis cut to form a groove portionin an intermediate part in the lateral direction of the facing surface. The groove portionhas a constant width in the lateral direction in the facing surfaceof the rear end part of the operating bodyand is shaped into a slope inclined downward toward a rear side as shown in.

The housingincludes a flange portionprotruding from a rear end part of the housing bodyover an entire periphery. As shown in, the flange portionhas a rectangular external shape with four chamfered corners in a back view.

As shown in, the housingincludes a pair of side portionscovering the operating portionfrom lateral sides on both left and right sides across the operating portionof the lock arm. Each side portionprojects from the end surfaceof the housing bodyand a rear end part thereof is integrated with the flange portion. The respective side portionshave a tapered shape to reduce a distance therebetween toward the front in a plan view.

The housingincludes the covering portioncoupled to the upper ends of the respective side portionsand bridged between the respective side portions. A rear end part of the covering portionis integrated with the flange portion. The covering portionhas a trapezoidal or U-shaped external shape narrowed toward the front in a plan view.

The front and rear ends of the covering portionare arranged along the lateral direction. As shown in, the front end of the covering portionis arranged at a position overlapping the respective arm bodiesin the front-rear direction. The rear end of the covering portionis arranged at the same position as the rear end of the housing bodyin the front-rear direction.

The covering portionis located above the operating portionand arranged to cover the operating portionfrom above. In other words, the covering portionis arranged to face the entire facing surfaceof the operating portionwhile being spaced apart. The entire operating portionis concealed by the covering portionin a plan view of the housing.

As shown in, the upper surface of the covering portionserves as a top surface, on which a finger F of a worker is to be placed in connecting the housingand the mating housing. The top surfaceof the covering portionis formed with a plurality of step portions,. Each of the step portions,is arranged to face rearward. As shown in, each of the step portions,is formed into a curved surface inclined forward with respect to the vertical direction. Further, as shown in, each step portion,has a trapezoidal or U shape in a plan view and includes a straight portionextending along the lateral direction and a pair of inclined portions, which are more spaced apart toward the rear side. The front ends of the respective inclined portionsand the left and right ends of the straight portionare respectively coupled via corner portionscurved in the plan view. The rear end of each inclined portionis located on the rear end of the covering portion. Each step portion,is similar in external shape to the covering portionand has a ripple shape as a whole in the plan view.

In the case of this embodiment, the step portions,include a first step portionand a second step portion. The straight portionof the first step portionis arranged in front of the straight portionof the second step portion. The corner portionsof the second step portionhave a larger radius of curvature than the corner portionsof the first step portion.

As shown in, the top surfaceof the covering portionis formed with a third flat surfacebehind the second step portion, a second flat surfacebetween the first and second step portions,and a first flat surfacein front of the first step portion. Any of the first, second and third flat surfaces,,is arranged to face upward and formed to be flat along the front-rear direction and lateral direction.

The second flat surfaceis arranged at a position higher than the third flat surfacevia the second step portion. The first flat surfaceis arranged at a position higher than the second flat surfacevia the first step portion. The first step portionis arranged at a position higher than the second step portionvia the second flat surface. In short, the top surfaceof the covering portionis formed into ascending steps toward the front in a cross-section of the housingas shown in.

The retaineris made of synthetic resin and includes, as shown in, a retainer body, a front mask portionand a pair of side walls(only one is shown in).

As shown in, the retainer bodyis in the form of a rectangular block and inserted into the retainer mount hole. The retainer bodyincludes a plurality of through holesconfigured to communicate with the respective cavitiesand a plurality of retaining portionsfor secondarily retaining the respective terminal fittings.

The front mask portionis plate-like and arranged to face the front surfaceA of the housing body. The front mask portionincludes a plurality of tab insertion holesconfigured to communicate with the respective cavities. The tabof the mating terminal fittingis inserted into each tab insertion holefrom front. The retaineris assembled with the housing bodyfrom below. The front mask portionis stopped in contact with the projecting wallfrom below.

In connecting the housingand the mating housing, the housingis pushed forward toward the mating housing. Due to an installation environment of the connectoror the like, a worker may have to grip the housingfrom both upper and lower sides in performing a connecting operation. Here, since the operating portionof the lock armis arranged on the end surfaceof the housing body, there is a concern that the worker's finger touches the operating portionand the operating portionis unexpectedly pushed down. On the other hand, in the case of this embodiment, the covering portionis arranged to cover the entire operating portionabove the operating portion. Thus, in performing the connecting operation, a state where the finger F is placed on the covering portionis reliably realized as shown in. In this way, the worker can perform the connecting operation, for example, by placing a thumb on the covering portionand an index finger on a lower end part of the flange portion. Thus, the operating portioncan be prevented from being pushed down by the finger F of the worker during the connecting operation.

In a connection process of the housing, the lock projectioninterferes with the receptacleof the mating housing, whereby the lock armis resiliently deformed and the operating portionis displaced downward toward the end surfaceof the housing body. Here, connection resistance is generated due to the interference of the housingand the mating housingand the contact of the terminal fittingsand the mating terminal fittings. As shown in, the worker can press the respective step portions,formed on the top surfaceof the covering portionfrom behind with the finger F against the connection resistance. Thus, the connecting operation can be performed without the finger F slipping on the top surfaceof the covering portion. Further, as shown in, since each of the step portions,has a trapezoidal or U shape in the plan view, the finger F can be placed over a wide range along the respective step portions,and the respective step portions,provide an effective anti-slip function for the finger F.

Thereafter, when the housingreaches the proper connection position, the lock armresiliently returns and the respective arm bodieshaving obtained a resilient reaction force of the lock armstrike the inner wall (wall surface) of the receptacleto generate a connection sound at the same time as the lock projectionsare fit into the lock holes. The worker can judge that the housinghas reached the proper connection position by hearing this connection sound. That is, the worker can auditorily know the connected state of the connector.

In the case of separating the housingand the mating housingfor maintenance or other reason, the lock armneeds to be resiliently deformed in such an unlocking direction that the lock projectionscome out from the lock holes. Normally, the worker can resiliently deform the lock armin the unlocking direction by pressing the facing surface, which is the upper surface of the operating portion, from above with a finger. However, since the covering portionis arranged to cover the entire operating portionabove the operating portionin the case of this embodiment, it is difficult to place the worker's finger on the facing surfaceof the operating portion, but the groove portioninclined downward toward the rear side is formed in the facing surfaceof the operating portion. Thus, the lock armcan be resiliently deformed in the unlocking direction by inserting a jiginto between the operating portionand the covering portionfrom behind and placing the jigalong the groove portionas shown in. In this way, the housingcan be pulled away from the mating housing.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the finger F of the worker can be prevented from contacting the rear end part of the lock armby being placed on the top surfaceof the covering portionwhen the housingand the mating housingare connected. As a result, it can be avoided that the lock armis inadvertently resiliently deformed, and the lock armcan properly resiliently return to generate a predetermined connection sound when the housingreaches the proper connection position. Moreover, since the step portions,provide the anti-slip function for the finger F when the housingis pushed into the mating housing, the connecting operation can be smoothly performed.

Further, since the finger F of the worker can be placed along the trapezoidal or U-shaped steps,projecting forward in this embodiment, a large hooking margin of the finger F to the step portions,can be taken and the step portions,provide an effective anti-slip function for the finger F. Moreover, since being formed into a ripple shape as a whole, each step portion,is easily recognized as a part, on which the finger F is to be placed.

Furthermore, even if the operating portionis covered by the covering portion, the connection of the housingand the mating housingcan be properly released by placing the jigalong the groove portionof the operating portion.

The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered illustrative in all aspects, rather than restrictive.

In the case of the above embodiment, the plurality of step portions are formed on the top surface of the operating portion. In contrast, according to another embodiment, one step portion may be formed on a top surface of an operating portion.

In the case of the above embodiment, the step portion is formed into the trapezoidal or U shape in the plan view by the straight portion and the pair of inclined portions. In contrast, according to another embodiment, an entire step portion may be a straight portion and linearly formed in a plan view. Alternatively, the entire step portion may be formed into a curved shape in the plan view.